


sugar, butter, flour

by suckhwas



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Fluff, M/M, inexcusably cheesy content, seonghwa owns a bakery, yeosang is a grad student with a sweet tooth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22921231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckhwas/pseuds/suckhwas
Summary: In which Yeosang doesn’t really like coffee, and Seonghwa can’t help but feel intrigued by the grad student that keeps dropping by his bakery.
Relationships: Kang Yeosang/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 39
Kudos: 306





	sugar, butter, flour

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this @ateez_tags post](https://twitter.com/ateez_tags/status/1230335672810180614) LMAO but i saw the words “college au, Food As A Metaphor For Love” and my brain didn’t hear any of that and immediately went BAKERY AU?!? instead so here we are
> 
> title from what’s inside from waitress the musical which is a far more dramatic show than this fluffy nonsense
> 
> enjoy!!

Seonghwa notices him right away.

It’s hard not to—no, not because he’s handsome, though he certainly is. It’s the university sweatshirt and backpack slung on one shoulder as he orders at the counter—iced americano, a slice of strawberry cake. Seonghwa doesn’t get many students here, his shop is _relatively_ close to the local university but far enough off campus that most students don’t bother to venture out this far.

And the next thing Seonghwa notices after the student sits to pull out his laptop—not that he was keeping tabs on him—is the horribly disgusted face he pulls after sipping his drink, and the cough he can barely stifle as the taste must linger in his mouth. 

Seonghwa grimaces, setting aside the cupcakes he was in the middle of frosting to wipe his hands clean and go fix this, make this guy a replacement drink so he doesn’t leave a bad yelp review or something. Seonghwa sort of hates this part of the job—he may own the place but he’s not _usually_ in a customer-facing role. He’s not fond of holing up in the backroom with the ovens either, much preferring to stay at his work table behind the counter where he can keep an eye on everything and deal with custom orders or restocking the display case of pastries. His employees typically deal with the majority of customers, but Hongjoong is still in the middle of a few drink orders and his cashier Jongho is too new to throw into the fire like that.

Seonghwa lets them know he’s stepping out for a moment before he bustles over to the student with his best customer service smile. “My sincerest apologies if there’s an issue with your drink, could I make you a new one?”

“Huh?” The student looks up, surprised, before putting the cup down. His face goes a bit red as he flusters. “Oh no, there’s nothing wrong with the drink, I just… don’t really like coffee?”

Seonghwa is struck dumb for a moment—this is not a response he was prepared for. “...Oh?”

The student smiles sheepishly before offering an explanation: “Ah, yeah, I just need the caffeine to get some work done on my dissertation…”

Seonghwa can’t help a slight chuckle when the student sips the drink again and cringes—it’s almost _cute_ , the way his nose scrunches up and his eyes squeeze shut. “I don’t really like bitter things either… Could I replace that with a drink that tastes better but still has caffeine in it?”

“Oh, um? Sure?”

“Great!” 

Seonghwa returns to the counter to personally make him a mocha, extra chocolate and extra whipped cream—the way he makes it for himself. It’s sweet enough that the coffee can go down without tasting it too much. He drizzles chocolate over the top before bringing it back to the student’s table. 

“Here, this is a mocha… basically a hot chocolate with espresso in it.”

The student takes a sip and his eyes widen, mouth curling up in a smile that’s stained with chocolate sauce in the corners. “Oh shit, that’s really good. Thank you.”

Seonghwa can’t help his smile at that. “Good, I’m glad you like it.” He stands there for an awkward moment, his cue to leave, before—“...I’m Seonghwa, by the way. I own this place.”

“Oh!” Yeosang sticks his hand out for Seonghwa to shake. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Yeosang… I’m a student,” He gestures at his laptop, “If that wasn’t obvious.”

“Let me know if I can get you anything else, Yeosang.”

  


* * *

  


Yeosang doesn’t order anything else that night, just shoves a handful of bills in the tip jar before he leaves, but he’s back again in a couple days, slipping in after the afternoon rush.

This time, Seonghwa doesn’t notice until Yeosang is at the counter to order—a slice of chocolate cake to go and a large mocha. Seonghwa pauses where he’s once again frosting a custom order of cupcakes to return the wave Yeosang sends him when he finally catches his attention.

“Extra chocolate and extra whip on that,” Seonghwa calls to Hongjoong as he moves to grab the slice from the display case and box it, bringing it to where Yeosang waits at the drink pickup end of the counter. At Yeosang’s questioning expression, he clarifies: “That’s what I made for you the other day. It hides the coffee taste more.”

Yeosang nods in understanding, smiling as he accepts the boxed slice. “Ahh, thank you.”

Seonghwa has to return to his cupcakes after that—a last-minute rush order—but Yeosang catches Seonghwa’s attention once more to wave goodbye as he leaves with his drink. It’s enough to distract Seonghwa into totally screwing up the swirl he was in the middle of piping—he has to scrape the frosting off and redo it.

  


* * *

  


The next time Seonghwa sees Yeosang, he doesn’t actually see him working at a table until twenty minutes before close.

It’s slow in the shop this late, enough that Hongjoong is manning the register and the drinks counter himself, but Seonghwa had been holed up in his tiny back office for most of the day to get through several mountains of paperwork.

Yeosang has clearly been there a while, empty plate and mug in front of him. He’s deep in focus, singularly focused on his screen and fingers a blur as he types.

At five minutes before closing, while Hongjoong wipes down the espresso machine and puts away various bottles of syrup and flavorings, Seonghwa goes to talk to him.

“Hi,” He starts, waving slightly to catch Yeosang’s attention.

It takes Yeosang a moment to register the words and look up. “Oh, hi Seonghwa.”

“I just wanted to let you know that we close in five—”

Yeosang peeks down at his phone to check the time, eyes widening. “Oh, _shit_.”

“—but I have some stuff to finish up in the back, so you can stay while I close up if you’re in the middle of something,” Seonghwa offers. It’s not something he’s done before, usually all too eager to let one of his employees herd out any stragglers, but something in his chest compels him to.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Yeosang protests.

“It’s no bother,” Seonghwa says, shrugging. “So feel free if you’d like to.”

“That—that’d be great actually, thank you,” Yeosang says, giving a grateful smile before returning to his frantic typing.

“No problem,” Seonghwa says, clearing the dishes from Yeosang’s table to take to the back.

Hongjoong raises an eyebrow at him when he returns to the counter, which Seonghwa ignores. 

“You’re good to go if you’ve finished cleaning up.”

Hongjoong only wheedles him more. “What’s up with the student, though?”

“I’m just letting him stay to work while I close up,” Seonghwa says, clearing his throat awkwardly and busying himself with emptying the pastries from the display case into a several quart tub.

“Alright, sure.” Hongjoong snorts, pausing to smack Seonghwa on the ass as he walks towards the back. “See you Wednesday.”

“Thursday!” Seonghwa corrects, “You traded with San.”

It’s quiet for a long while after Hongjoong leaves, just the clicking of Yeosang’s keyboard and Seonghwa humming to himself as he finishes clearing out the display case and preps the counter for opening the next day.

Until—a growl. Yeosang’s stomach growling, to be exact. It’s loud in the small shop.

Seonghwa can’t stifle his chuckle, and he watches over the counter as Yeosang goes red. “Hungry?”

“Oh my god,” Yeosang says, embarrassed. 

“Here,” Seonghwa says, plating a leftover croissant and bringing it to Yeosang’s table. “Eat something.”

Yeosang looks ready to protest, but after a moment of consideration takes a large bite of the pastry instead.

“You’ve been here for a while, right?” Seonghwa asks, and Yeosang nods. “So you definitely didn’t eat dinner, since I don’t serve it.”

Yeosang only looks more embarrassed at Seonghwa’s chiding, but he shoves another chunk of pastry in his mouth. “I was really in the zone on this section— _god_ , this is good.”

“Thank you,” Seonghwa says, resisting the urge to preen. “What are you working on, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s my graduate dissertation, I’m studying early childhood development,” Yeosang says.

“Ooh, wow. Sounds difficult.”

Yeosang sighs wearily. “Yeah, kinda. Working with kids means the research proposals are ridiculous—like twice as long as working with adults, or rats. Kind of a nightmare.”

Seonghwa winces in sympathy. “I’ll leave you to it then… I should be done in about an hour.”

“Thanks again for letting me stay.”

An hour of prepping frosting to use in the morning goes faster than it usually does. When Seonghwa returns to the front with his jacket and the large tub of leftover pastries, Yeosang is already packing up his things. He pauses when Yeosang pulls a penny board from his bag.

“Did you skateboard here?” He asks. 

“Yeah,” Yeosang says, pulling on his backpack.

The feeling in Seonghwa’s chest is back—“Do you want a ride? It’s dark.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you...” Yeosang says. “You’ve already done a lot.”

“It’s not a hassle—I just have to make a quick stop a few blocks down and then I can drop you off. Are you near the campus?”

“Yeah, I live in an apartment a bit off campus—are you sure?”

“Of course,” Seonghwa shoos Yeosang out of the front door so he can lock up. “Don’t even worry about it.”

They have to walk around to the back of the building to where Seonghwa’s car is parked, and one quick pitstop to drop off the leftover pastries at a nearby food pantry later, they’re on their way to Yeosang’s apartment. 

“Do you do that every day?” Yeosang asks, fiddling with the straps of his bag.

“The food pantry? Just some days. I try not to overbake in the first place, but sometimes it’s inevitable.”

“That’s really awesome.”

Seonghwa shrugs. “It’d be irresponsible to just let it go to waste.”

The ride is mostly quiet after that, but it’s such a quick drive to the university that it doesn’t feel too uncomfortable. Yeosang thanks Seonghwa again once he’s parked in front of his apartment building.

“Really, you’ve been so nice,” Yeosang says.

“It’s seriously not a hassle,” Seonghwa says, “Good luck with your work.”

“Thank you!” Yeosang says before he lets the door shut. Seonghwa waits for him to get up the stairs and unlock the door, and Yeosang turns to wave one last time before going inside.

  


* * *

  


Seonghwa is at the register the next time Yeosang comes by—Jongho’s in the backroom on break.

“Hi Yeosang,” Seonghwa greets once Yeosang gets to the front of the line. “Large mocha?”

Yeosang’s nose crinkles up cutely with a laugh. “Yeah. With—”

“Extra chocolate and whip, I know,” Seonghwa says, already writing it on the cup to slide across the counter to San, the barista on today’s shift.

“I’ll have a slice of strawberry cake, too, and…” He pauses, and Seonghwa watches him eye the display case consideringly. “What would you recommend for a person that doesn’t like chocolate? ...Or fruit?”

“Hmm,” Seonghwa takes a glance into the display case too, despite having stocked it himself that morning. He wonders idly who Yeosang is buying pastries for before banishing that train of thought. “I like the cheese tarts. But our croissants are really popular too, the almond ones especially.”

“I’ll have two of the almond croissants then, everything to go,” Yeosang says, digging in his coat for his wallet.

Seonghwa boxes the pastries while Yeosang swipes his card at the register. 

Yeosang smiles sweetly when Seonghwa is handing over the box a moment later. His hand lingers where it overlaps Seonghwa’s. “Thanks. I’m sort of trying to… bribe my advisor. I’m hoping these work.”

“I’ll cross my fingers for you,” Seonghwa says with a chuckle, oddly relieved. “San will have your drink at the end of the counter.”

“Thanks,” Yeosang says. “I’ll see you later.”

  


* * *

  


The next time Yeosang is there, Seonghwa doesn’t see him at all.

Seonghwa’s stuck in the backroom all day, baking layer after layer of white cake for a large wedding order and catching up on paperwork in his tiny closet-turned-office when he has a spare moment. Hongjoong and Jongho are more than capable of holding down the front without Seonghwa up there too, but Seonghwa never relishes these days.

He doesn’t find out until Hongjoong informs him after closing.

“Front’s all closed,” Hongjoong announces first, and then: “Your grad student was here again.”

“My wh—Yeosang?”

“Yep.” Hongjoong is facing away, hanging up his apron and pulling on his coat, but Seonghwa can hear the smirk in his voice.

“He asked if you were out today,” Jongho adds as he joins them in the back, pulling off his own apron.

“Oh—okay,” Seonghwa says. He doesn’t know what to make of that, but he resists the urge to ask something stupid, like _What’d he order_?

His employees are already mostly out of the door by the time Seonghwa has something intelligent to say again, so he only has time to return their goodbyes before he’s alone with his paperwork.

  


* * *

  


Yeosang is back again soon, though this time he looks stressed out.

The front of his hair has frizzed from how often he’s run his hand through it—not that Seonghwa’s watching—and two empty cake plates plus the empty cups from _three_ double espresso shot mochas betrays how long he’s been tucked in a corner booth working.

Seonghwa takes a break from glazing fruit tarts to bring Yeosang a glass of water, an attempt to keep him from ordering a fourth coffee drink and going into cardiac arrest.

“How’s it going?” He asks as he sets the glass down, though he can anticipate the answer.

Yeosang grimaces. “Not great.”

“I’m sorry.” Seonghwa pats his shoulder in a way he hopes is reassuring but probably looked awkward to any outsider. He stands there unsure for a moment before he’s compelled to offer—“I’m staying late to catch up on some paperwork, so… feel free to stay after closing again, if you’d like. I can drive you home.”

Yeosang smiles gratefully. “I think I’ll take you up on that, thanks.”

“I’ll make sure the guys know not to kick you out at eight, then,” Seonghwa says, returning Yeosang’s smile and giving his shoulder another pat before he clears the table and heads to the counter.

Seonghwa only has time to bring him another glass of water and a croissant right after the shop closes before he has to hole up in the office to get his own work done, unfortunately. Part of him wishes he could work up front and keep Yeosang company, but he has to keep an eye on the batches of cupcakes in the backroom ovens, too. 

There’s enough work to finish up that he loses track of time between putting cupcakes on cooling racks and reviewing health code updates, not noticing how late it is until he realizes he’s left Yeosang alone up front for more than three hours—longer than he was even planning on being here.

He quickly wraps things up and grabs his jacket before breezing back into the front, only to find Yeosang looking most of the way asleep at his laptop. He’s bracing his head on his arm, smushing his face cutely and Seonghwa resists the urge to coo.

“Hey, Yeosang,” Seonghwa whispers, gently tapping Yeosang’s arm. “Wake up.”

Yeosang wakes with a start, nearly banging his elbow on the table. “Oh, shit, sorry.”

“No, _I’m_ sorry, I didn’t mean to make you stay this late.”

“It’s fine, I only finished up like ten minutes ago anyways, don’t worry,” Yeosang says, standing and stretching his arms above his head. It reveals a peek of soft stomach as his sweatshirt lifts, and Seonghwa looks away. Yeosang packs up his things quickly. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Seonghwa clears his throat. “Uh—yeah, yes, this way.”

He leads Yeosang to his car in the back, and Yeosang falls asleep within moments of sitting down in the passenger seat. He looks cute with his face half smushed against the window. Seonghwa mutes the radio, and drives as close to Yeosang’s apartment near the university as he can remember, only waking Yeosang to direct him for the last few turns.

Yeosang stifles another yawn as Seonghwa parks in front of his building. He lays a hand over the one Seonghwa has resting on the gearshift and squeezes slightly. “Thanks again for letting me stay. I was actually really productive, for once.”

“It’s no problem,” Seonghwa says, and tries not to fluster when Yeosang smiles sweetly and squeezes his hand again. “I’m glad you were able to get a lot done.”

Again, he waits for Yeosang to make it up the stairs and unlock the door before returning Yeosang’s small wave and driving himself home.

  


* * *

  


Yeosang is back the next day.

It’s a little odd, there’s usually at least a couple days between his appearances, but this time he breezes in ten minutes before closing.

“Hey, sleep well?” Seonghwa calls from his work table once Yeosang is at the counter to order.

“Yeah, thankfully,” Yeosang says, eyes crinkling with a smile.

“I’m glad.” Seonghwa has to return to filling and assembling macarons after that, a delicate task with the fragile meringue shells.

Jongho takes Yeosang’s order: just a slice of strawberry cake, which he sits to eat in his regular booth. He doesn’t have his laptop, or even his bag, which seems odd—Seonghwa accidentally snaps a shell in half with his inattention and returns his focus to the task at hand, at least for now.

“Should I tell him we’re closing soon?” San murmurs. He’d only been at work for one of Yeosang’s previous visits.

Before Seonghwa can say anything, Jongho cuts in. “No, that’s Seonghwa’s grad student, he always stays late.”

“He’s not—” Seonghwa starts in protest, but he doesn’t have a rebuttal. Jongho and San don’t even attempt to hide their chuckles. “Okay, you can start closing up. I’ll be done in a minute.”

By the time Seonghwa finishes filling the macarons, Jongho and San are already done closing the front and heading to the backroom with a few waves and not-well-muffled snickers. Yeosang is still at his table, too, his cake finished and idly scrolling through his phone. Waiting?

“Hey, Yeosang,” Seonghwa greets as he goes to clear Yeosang’s table. “No laptop today?”

“No, I actually just submitted my final research proposal for review this morning,” Yeosang says, standing up.

“Oh, that’s amazing,” Seonghwa says. If that’s what was causing all of Yeosang’s stress the day prior, he’s glad to hear it’s over.

“Yeah…” Yeosang pauses, and takes a breath. “I have basically nothing to do for a week ‘till they approve it.”

“That’s nice,” Seonghwa says. He’s not quite sure why Yeosang came all this way to tell him that.

“So I want to take you on a date.”

Seonghwa blinks. His brain can’t quite process Yeosang’s words. “...What?”

Yeosang looks a little sheepish, some unease bleeding into his expression. “Would you go on a date with me, Seonghwa?”

When Seonghwa can finally kick his thoughts back into gear, the answer comes quickly. “ _Yes_. Yes, I’d like that.”

Yeosang smiles at that, bright enough that his eyes scrunch up and the soft of his cheeks puffs out. He gently takes the plate back out of Seonghwa’s hands and places it on the table again. “Can I kiss you?”

Seonghwa can only nod at that, letting Yeosang step closer and press their lips together sweetly. Literally—Yeosang tastes like strawberry frosting. And Seonghwa thinks that he should probably be sick of his own recipes by now, but somehow the taste of the strawberry frosting that he’s been making for years is addictive on Yeosang’s lips. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss, letting his hands finally settle on Yeosang’s waist as Yeosang tangles a hand in his apron.

Yeosang sighs so prettily when Seonghwa pulls him closer, slipping his tongue forward into Seonghwa’s mouth and flooding all of his tastebuds with strawberry. Seonghwa misses it as soon as he has to pull away.

They stay like that for a moment, pressed close as Seonghwa can’t help but smile. 

“So, tell me about that date you’re taking me on.”

**Author's Note:**

> Later, later:
> 
> _“You know, I’ve had fantasies about you in your apron and the shop counter... frosting was possibly involved.”_
> 
> _Seonghwa grimaces. “That’s definitely a health code violation.”_
> 
> ///
> 
> heheh hope you enjoyed!! it was fun to write something a lil pointless and lighthearted
> 
> comments & kudos always incredibly appreciated! and you can also find me and yell at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/himbohwa) or [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/himbohwa), i'm @himbohwa on both!
> 
> thanks again for reading <3


End file.
